Archie Dunnill is the captain of Graveney School under-15s who take on
Altrincham in the Vase final

Pretty and potent in pink: Archie Dunnill prepares to put the ball in a Graveney scrum

By Archie Dunnill, Graveney School U15s captain

5:00PM GMT 24 Mar 2014

This is the first time we have entered this prestigious competition and for us to be at this stage in the tournament shows the strength of character and dedication of all members of the team and also shows the faith our coach has in us to even enter us in to the competition.

A few years ago I was watching Dulwich College in the 2012 Schools Cup final and I told my dad, who was with me at the time, “this could be us in a few years.” And it was true, after 10 tough games of rugby.

We came up against some very strong sides on our road to the final including Tiffin, London Oratory and Whitgift, who actually knocked us out of the main competition during one of our best team performances to date in a narrow 29-26 defeat.

Reaching Twickenham shows how far every single player in the squad has come – a few years ago a couple of the guys didn't even know what a rugby ball was – but the drive and determination has helped everyone in the group improve dramatically, and get to the level they are currently performing at.

Related Articles

This is mainly down to the dedication of our coach Stacia Long; she has helped and supported us all the way. I don’t think we would be where we are now if it wasn’t for her commitment and passion towards the team and the work she puts in to help us become better players is phenomenal.

The main strength of this squad is the bond between every single member of the team. We are all great friends, a very tight unit who can count on each other on and off the pitch. Everyone is trusted when on the pitch, we know what everyone is capable of and we all believe that they will carry out their role and responsibilities in the game.

Even if we’re losing we stick together and keep fighting with grit and determination, which we showed against Whitgift after going 14-0 behind with in the first five minutes we then pulled it back to 14-14.

There is real excitement in the team and also in the school; we’re all looking forward to it, especially staying in the hotel. It has been an absolute honour for me to captain such a great group of boys, and I am very proud of what we have achieved to date. It would be something special if we won at Twickenham, we just have to enjoy it and give our all.